I would not buy this keyboard based upon the prices I see these selling for on Ebay. All Moogs are getting outragous bids. You want an old board....buy some sort of Roland...the prices are much more reasonable. The days of finding these on a dusty shelf at a Thrift store could be over. I got mine 16 years ago for $70.00 on a shelf in a Thrift shop....and I was paying close to top dollar for the day. The board itself is great. Simple but great. It is the best boark for a beginner but for $400+ there a hundreds of better boards out there. If you have to have the Moog sound...this is it. For the prices these are bringing in you would be better to buy a Juno-106 for about the same amount. (PS...all above comments are true...the board is loud, present, pure analog, harsh, mean, and really fun to play and play with). Filter sweeps have no steps and can make you melt if you run it through an effects box. Bringing the two oscellators into tune can also make your heart race.

Rating: 0 out of 5
posted Wednesday-Nov-14-2007 at 23:39

Craggno
a professional user
from Canada
writes:

I just rescued this synth from my parents' house. I got it for free from a friend in 1990 as I was interested in analogue machines at the time. Had to remove the foam last week, and I am blown away that this foam appears in other moogs. It is as horrifying as people describe...but if it has damaged your sliders, a company on Ebay has re-made them. As for the radio shack thing, snob that I am, several years ago I covered the Realistic logo at the back with moog. While it is a wolf in sheeps' clothing, I am personally astounded that prices are as high as USD 400 on ebay. I also own a minimoog which has been recently overhauled. The MG-1 is no mini, but brings a sonic character that is incredibly unique. Bass aside, it is able to create outerspace FX and brings a nasal tonal quality that is a lot of fun to work with. The detune is wild. It is no accident it is made of plastic...it sounds like plastic, great nasal analogue plastic.

Rating: 4 out of 5
posted Friday-Oct-14-2005 at 15:58

Roger Lavallee
a professional user
from Massachusetts
writes:

I've been using one since the 80's. I love this synth. I've done the mod to accept an external input for the awesome Moog filter. I learned so much about analog synthesis and how this makes that sound like this, and so on, on this synth. It's a great alternative to even a modern "modeling" synth, if all you're looking for is a good time with the bassline, or a sweet lead. It's there. Plus ring mod, S+H filter FX, and a killer sounding filter. I really can't say enough about it.

Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Wednesday-Aug-03-2005 at 16:01

Kelly Minnis
a hobbyist user
from Snohomish, WA
writes:

Picked one of these up recently for way too much $$ (although it had been refurbished with new toggles and black foam cleaned out) but it was worth every penny and then some!

PACKAGING Alright, it looks cheap and feels cheap. The body is molded from plastic, the keys are plastic and the action isn't great. No blazing 32nd-note solos on this keyboard. But the switches are smooth (esp. since they've all been replaced!) It is a Radio Shack packaging on the outside, though it is pure Moog goodness on the inside.

The only thing it lacks are wheels for modulation and pitch (I don't really miss them) and no routing of external audio to the VCF (though there are web resources that show you how to do that if you want)

POSITIVES It is pure Moog. The squiggly hip-hop leads? Got 'em. Deep bass? Got it. Insane robot noises? You betcha. The filter is edgy as hell. And the polyphony sound is surprisingly versatile. All toll, the MG-1 is a very aggressive little synth. Not exactly a Minimoog but it is more reliable and far cheaper. You can generally pick one of these up for less than any other Moog. With a little elbow grease and solder you can make one of these like-new.

NEGATIVES Most of these have not been cleaned up. There is a layer of black foam under the keyboard that deteriorates into goo that clogs up the switches and such. A gentle alcohol bath will clean that up. But it is still a drag to repair. And once upon a time these keyboards could be found in pawn shops and at the Goodwill for next to nothing. Now they are collectible because chumps like me will shell out good coin for them. But it is by far the best analog I've owned.

Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Tuesday-Jun-07-2005 at 08:37

Arthur Byerly
a part-time user
from Usa
writes:

Found one at a garage sale for $5 bucks and i about fainted. It was almost perfect. Some of the slider caps were missing but thats kinda expected. Even came with the original manual with preset sound charts and all of the empty ones as well. After some extensive playing i discovered that this is real moog. Did some dead on Stevie Wonder type leads and the infamous bass. Took it to a friend who liked it and tuned the tone sources for me and then it became a different story. Its fat with a capital F. Kick in that polyphonic section and its almost like a 3rd oscilator. Is it a mini-moog? No, but its a great synth through and through. If you see one for about $200 dollars, buy it. Dont think about it, jus buy it.